"We set out to lower the tax rate increase to below three percent and that's what we did," Budget Committee Chairman Marc Johnson said.

First Selectman Peter Tesei's push for nine new firefighters, and a request for a $650,000 pump truck, were among the items crossed off the wish list.

Tesei promises to pressure the full BET to restore the staffing initiative, and slammed the committee for "a lack of clarity." Their positions, he said, are based on opinion as well as fact.

When it comes to the issue of additional resources -- including the push for a new fire station in northwest Greenwich to counter slow response times -- it is understandable that the decision-makers need as much information as possible.

It's also hard not to boil this down to safety vs. money. It seems unlikely Tesei can fulfill his pledge to address this immediately. Maybe he and the fire department need to bring more facts to the table.

But we implore everyone involved to keep exploring the matter. If BET members want to dismiss the fire department's expertise out of a lack of trust, it doesn't mean the issues will disappear.

It rings of the same political rhetoric we heard more than a decade ago when the state questioned making more investments in the railroad. For several years, the answer was that the money just wasn't there.

To pursue more efficiencies, there is a growing interest in sharing resources with neighbors. That is always a worthy pursuit. But firefighters from Armonk, N.Y., and Stamford can only be pinch-hitters in Greenwich, not the starting lineup.

This isn't that complicated an issue. Town leaders need to collaborate to make informed decisions. It could lead to more investments, or to even more savings. But they seem to be dodging the hard work.